Canadian law firm, Torys, is no stranger to using multimedia to present its annual Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Trends. Their efforts in making a video podcast of the report even earned them the “Marketing Initiative of the Year” award at the Marketing Partner Forum in January 2007. The video podcasts have been well received by their clients, but Torys took the idea to a higher level this year by creating an animated version of their trends report using white board animation, through the talents of animator Ben Rivers, to enhance the viewer’s experience. Torys animated M&A Trends for 2011 even surpasses our idea we had last year about turning those legal trends surveys into children’s books.

I had a chance to correspond with the voice behind the M&A Trends video, co-leader of Torys’ M&A Practice, Matthew Cockburn, to discuss the details behind the making of the video. I could tell right away from Matt’s responses that he is extremely proud of the video, and loved how Ben Rivers’ artwork brought the subject matter to life. The group of lawyers and marketing professionals at Torys storyboarded the topic and came up with some outlines for Rivers to use along with the recorded audio. “Ben really understood what we were looking for and did a great job,” commented Cockburn.

It seems that the most difficult part of the process was the storyboarding.  Cockburn said that “it took several days to prepare the storyboard and develop the style.” However, once the group settled on the storyboard they wanted to go with, Ben Rivers came into the Toronto office of Torys to create the drawings and shoot the video. So, after days of sweating over the details of the storyboarding, the actual video shooting only took one day.

I asked Matt Cockburn why Torys decided to go with a white board story telling of the M&A trends report, and have they received any feedback from their clients yet. He told me that they had “sent the Trends publication out to our clients and contacts with a link to our M&A Top Trends microsite.” With the 2011 edition being the fifth year of the popular Torys publication, the response from the clients has been very positive. “The feedback has been great. We have had a number of comments from clients telling us how much they enjoyed it. Most of the comments suggest that people thought the video was fresh and engaging.”

The head of Torys Marketing Department, Stuart Wood, must have been thrilled to hear clients say that a law firm’s trends report was “fresh and engaging.” Cockburn gave Wood the credit for coming up with the idea of using a white board animation video to enhance the trends report. It is also helps that Wood’s idea can also be distributed through Torys’ microsite, YouTube, Facebook, iTunes, and even through Torys’ iPhone app. It seems that all Torys is missing is broadcasting this on a local public access station.

The efforts are paying off with a increase in viewers over the previous years’ productions. “At the moment, the total views are over 1200,” Cockburn told me. Not too shabby for a topic like Mergers & Acquisitions trends in the Canadian marketplace. “Ultimately, we would like as many people as possible to read our Trends publication,” continued Cockburn, “we’ll review the metrics to see if the video helps increase interest in the publication and in our M&A practice overall.”

When I asked Matt Cockburn if he had any suggestions for other law firms contemplating doing something like this, he replied firms will “need the content to generate the interest in the first place. As a firm, we have had great success with the Top Trends publication and so this year we gave it a new twist. But we really focus on the content first.”

Finally, I wondered if Torys had any plans to try this again in the future. Cockburn didn’t hesitate in responding with a firm “Yes” on that question. “Yes. We are always looking for new ways to engage with our clients. I think everyone worked well together on a tight timeline and we are very happy with the result. Ben and the rest of the production team were terrific and made the whole exercise a lot of fun.”

Well, enough of the discussion of the video for “M&A: Torys’ Top Trends for 2011,” take a look at if for yourself and see what you think about the “twist” that Torys gave their clients this year. Congratulations to Matt Cockburn, Ben Rivers and Stuart Wood for coming up with a great way to present the M&A Trends this year. I hope we see more of this from Torys (and others) this year.

When you’re at the proverbial cocktail party, and someone asks you what you do, do you have an answer? As a professional in a field known by virtually no one (knowledge management), I can tell you that one of the situations I used to fear most was getting the dreaded “what do you do?” question. It sounds so innocent, doesn’t it? And yet it used to set my mental cogs into a twisting, mostly downward, spiral. I had no idea how to answer that question (a) briefly [in case the person isn’t really that interested], (b) coherently [so that I don’t sound like I’m making it up], and (c) substantively [so that I actually answer the person’s question and explain what I do]. But about a year ago, I finally came up with my elevator speech — a way of describing what I do briefly, coherently, and substantively. This is quite a point of pride for me not only because it took me so long to figure out, but also because I’ve found that my speech actually works! Each time I share it to respond to the “what do you do?” question, I’ve been greeted in return with genuine understanding, and even an interest in hearing more. So, what is this 30-second pitch I’ve developed? Well, here you go — I explain that: “What I do is parallel to what Google did for the web. All the websites it searches already existed and were already out there available to be viewed, but suddenly with Google people were able to find those websites much more easily.” One of the reasons I like the comparison for the layperson of knowledge management to Google is that it leverages the distinction between access to content and the content itself that, prior to Google, most people simply did not get, but which Google has since made infamous. Certainly one part of knowledge management is content development and aggregation, but that part is typically easier to explain. The aspect that always tripped me up in the past was how to express the access part of knowledge management. I could say I design, build, and launch a tool that searches; a tool that files email; a new portal; a practice toolkit; a tool that tags documents; a more streamlined process to create documents; etc etc… but listing out projects is hardly the right response at that party to the person asking what you do. So I’m pleased to say that I now have an elevator speech. But I’m always interested in hearing how others describe what they do to those completely outside the legal industry. So if you have an elevator speech too, please comment here and share it with me.

Every once in a while, we like to lob a softball out for everyone to answer. Of course, if you hate what you do, then I guess this wouldn’t really be a softball question for you (good luck on the job search when the economy rebounds, though!) For the rest of us, there are just certain things we do that make us feel good about choosing our profession. I love using the analogy of the game of Careers where different professions bring in different categories of success. Few of us get a good balance between fame (), happiness (), and salary($), but sometimes we get close. [FYI – I’m still trying to think of a good Elephant Post Question that brings in the rules of Careers… let me know if you have a good one!)] We have a number of perspectives this week where people have found a good balance, and enjoy what they do. Whether it is Marketing, KM, Libraries, or CI, it seems that the common theme is that they like what they do, and they feel like they are accomplishing something everyday. Don’t worry if you didn’t get a chance to contribute to this week’s post. After you read the perspectives on this week’s question, we give everyone a chance to answer next week’s question… all without even having to leave this page!! Marketing Perspective Socialicious Danny Johnson I work in Marketing at NetDocuments and manage the social media strategy. Taking what I like to do, interact with people, to work, makes it amazing. Also, cloud computing is the emerging tech of the decade and being a part of it is fascinating. Its a fast paced market so it forces me to stay current or else get left behind. Knowledge Management Perspective You mean there’s something NOT to like? Ayelette Robinson Other than not being able to spend more time out in the sun and fresh air (though my pale skin probably wouldn’t handle that very well in any case), everything about my profession is right up my alley. In no particular order, here’s what I love about my profession: I get to leverage all my prior professional knowledge as though all my prior positions led me in a straight line to where I am today (though they didn’t, at least not intentionally), I get to think of creative conceptual and visual solutions to problems which exercises the artistic side of my brain, I get to have fun picking technology apart and putting it back together again, I get to hang out with both lawyers (business problem solvers) and geeks (techies), I get to work on collaborative teams, I get to make others’ lives easier, I get to bask in the knowledge that there will always be new and increasingly interesting problems to solve, and last but certainly not least, I get to cross paths with the smartest, most interesting, and most fun professionals I know, which inspires me and humbles me every single day. Law Librarian Perspective Magical Research Moments Ellen Quinn Research and problem solving. I love deconstructing a question, considering or discovering resources and then applying them to solve the problem before me. That time of intense concentration and problem-solving zen is what got me into the profession of law librarianship and what keeps it new and interesting. I enjoy the social aspects of research –collaboration with attorneys, staff, courts, government agencies, help desk staff, and other librarians – to provide solutions for our clients. I also love the little things, those “pulling a rabbit out of a hat” moments. These usually involve a request for a specific item – the requester doesn’t know where to find it so they come to you. And because you have many years of experience, you have a thorough working knowledge of legal and non-legal resources, and because you regularly get that same sort of question in various guises – you email the item to them before they (a) get back to their office, or (b) within a five minutes after you get the email request, or (c) you pull an actual book off the shelf right before their eyes, – or (d) because you know that other librarians want to help, you take advantage of interlibrary loan networks and that world-class research library down the street. Competitive Intelligence Manager Perspective “It’s not a job, it’s a profession” Emily C. Rushing Some folks have “jobs” and that’s fine. I’ve had many jobs, jobs are good things. But to have a profession is so much more rewarding. Definitions of “profession” cite to a “calling” and require “specialized knowledge” and “long and intensive academic preparation”. They also reference the “whole body of people engaged in a profession”. This calling and the community is one of the things I most love about my profession. We debate and disagree (hopefully respectfully), but library/research/knowledge/intelligence professionals can and do collaborate, share ideas and work together to improve ourselves and the practices of our institutions. The folks in my profession are some of the smartest, most interesting and dedicated people I’ve ever known. So, belonging to library and intelligence communities as a fellow professional, to me, is better than any ole’ job. Like my colleagues, it’s my profession and my calling. Lawyer Perspective Chief Builder Donna Chmura I am a business lawyer. What I like most about it is that I am helping to build something for my clients, rather than tear something down or pick up the pieces in litigation. The second-best thing is being able to learn about so many businesses and industries, and what makes them tick. Information Technology Perspective Solidarity Scott Preston There are several aspects of my profession that I love. As a technologist, I love the fact that the profession is in a constant state of change. Perhaps the approach toward finding and implementing technology does not change as frequently as it should, but certainly technology is constantly changing and that keeps things interesting. Another aspect of my profession that I love is the legal environment. I work with some of the best and brightest legal minds in the industry and these people expect the best in everyone around them. As I like to say, you better be willing and able to bring your “A” game or you will not last long in the legal environment. You must have a good understanding of how you will approach challenges and be comfortable having your ideas challenged. Finally, I love the camaraderie I have with my many peers at other law firms. I have always been amazed by the amount of information and idea sharing that goes on between law firm technologists, as well as other administrative areas. Law Librarian Perspective Sherlock Holmes…Eat your heart out! Mark Gediman I love searching for the needle in a haystack, following the breadcrumb trail and generally pulling a research rabbit out of my hat. Tracking down the obscure is fun and challenging, the more painstaking the better. That’s what makes me look forward to work in the morning. At least, I think that’s why. Marketing Perspective Voila! Lisa Salazar Creativity.I love taking literally “nothing”–air, web space, another dimension–and creating a new thing. It is a complete a total rush.And it gets really fun when you do it with other people. Some of the best days at work are days when me, the IT guys and the graphics guys sit around a table and come up with a new way to do things.Now that’s a rush! Next Week’s Elephant Post Question:

What Blog Do You Read That You Suggest Others Should Also Read?

Hey! The form’s embedded, so you have no excuse not to contribute. However, if you cannot see the form because you’re using IE 6.0, you can still:

The McKinsey Quarterly put out an interesting article about business strategy, and outlined “ten timeless tests” that you should think about when evaluating your company’s strategic direction. (note: free registration required to read the entire article)

Bruce MacEwan at Adam Smith, Esq. blog took the tests and applied them to how a law firm looks at its strategic direction. Both of these posts provide a nice insight into business strategies and law firm strategies, but I’d like to look at it from an even narrower prospective of law library strategies and see how asking these ten questions can help structure successful implementation of strategic plans.
Here are the ten questions (Note: McKinsey chart shows that most companies’ strategies (65%) pass 3 or fewer of these test.)
Test 1: Will your strategy beat the market?
Test 2: Does your strategy tap a true source of advantage?
Test 3: Is your strategy granular about where to compete?
Test 4: Does your strategy put you ahead of trends?
Test 5: Does your strategy rest on privileged insights?
Test 6: Does your strategy embrace uncertainty?
Test 7: Does your strategy balance commitment and flexibility?
Test 8: Is your strategy contaminated by bias?
Test 9: Is there conviction to act on your strategy?
Test 10: Have you translated your strategy into an action plan?
I think it would be interesting to take a generic library strategic plan – such as this one from Duke University – adapt if for a law library, and run it through the series of tests to see how the strategy holds up to the questions.
Here’s the Duke Library strategies, changed to be more generic:
  1. Improve the User Experience
  2. Provide Digital Content, Tools & Services
  3. Develop New Research & Training Partnerships
  4. Support the Organization’s Priorities
  5. Enhance Library Spaces
Maybe an even better approach is to take the basic strategy (like Duke’s “Improve the User Experience”) and drive it through these questions in order to come up with a better overall strategy. It may even turn out that the original strategy isn’t a good idea at all and the library shouldn’t waste time on it. As the quote goes from Phil Rosenzweig in the McKinsey article, “There’s always new stuff out there, and most of it’s not very good.” Perhaps running the concept of your new strategy through the test can help weed out those “not very good” strategies.
So, if we took the “Improve the User Experience” and applied Test 1 to see if it would beat the market, how would it hold up?? First of all, I think we’d need to identify two things before we go any further. Who is the User? What is our defined Market?
Who is the User?
If we’re talking about a law firm library, then the user would be defined as the attorneys and staff of the firm that benefit from the services the law library provides. Notice that I didn’t use the phrase “attorneys and staff that use the library.” My thoughts on that were that would be too narrow a definition (as probably there are a huge chunk of lawyers and staff that don’t directly use the library, but still indirectly receive benefit from the services provided by the library… such as the library’s maintenance of the online subscription databases, or Intranet links.)
What is our defined Market?
This one is an interesting question and perhaps some law firm librarians do not think there is a defined market in which they are competing. But, let’s step back a minute and think about a broad market definition of who we compete against on a day-to-day basis.
  • Online databases – whether it is Google, Westlaw, Lexis, or any of the other countless sources of information available to your defined Users, they are all competing to get your users to use their services over yours.
  • Internal market – Are there others within your firm that are providing duplicate services? Paralegals, Associates, clerks and secretaries may be positioned to provide some of the same services that your library provides, and may have a competitive advantage because of their proximity to decision makers within the firm. I’m not saying that it is right or wrong… it’s just that they have to be recognized as part of the market.
  • External market – Are there others outside your firm that are providing duplicate services? This type of external market could range from consultants that come in to assist in the training of library users, to Westlaw/Lexis attorneys, to the Barnes & Noble down the street, to outsourced resources. Again, this isn’t designed to make you take a defensive stance against others in the market… you just need to understand who those players are in order to answer Test 1 honestly.
What does “Beat the Market” Mean?
I got in a bit of trouble with a friend of mine a couple weeks ago when I mentioned that a law library shouldn’t run itself like a business and turn itself into a Barnes & Noble. Your library is a business, but it is one with a peculiar type of profit model. So, when we look at the first test and we define what it means to “Beat the Market,” you’ll need to really think about what that means for your individual law library. I’d say it would be safe to say that a generic answer like this would get you started:
“Beating the Market means that the strategy will better position the law library to compete in the market place against internal and external competitors, and will improve the way the library leverages the use of internal and external competitors.”
In other words, even if internal and external competitors end up being the best way to accomplish our objectives, it is accomplished in a way that makes sure the law library is still an important player in that market. If implementing this specific strategy places your law library in a stronger position within your defined market, then I’d say that you’ve passed Test 1.
The McKinsey article says that Test 1 is comprehensive and the remaining nine “disaggregate the picture of a market-beating strategy.” However, stopping at Test 1 may not uncover some of the other weaknesses (or strengths) of your strategy. Therefore, having a conversation about the remaining nine strategies is important in order to have a dialog with others to determine how strong the strategy is, and the best method of applying the strategy successfully.
I’d actually love it if we could recruit some guests to come on and try their hand at answer Tests 2 – 9 on this generic strategy of “Improve the User Experience.” Let me know if you want to tackle Test 2 and explain if this strategy taps a true source of advantage for a law library.

In February, Toby and I are going to participate in a Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section (PLL-SIS) of AALL discussing how law librarians’ skill sets can be used to support strategic Knowledge Management. Of course, Toby will be doing all the heavy lifting, and I’ll be sitting back asking him some off-the-wall questions.

The series of webinars that PLL-SIS has set up, will lead to PLL Change as Action Summit at the AALL Annual Conference on July 23, 2011 (in Philadelphia). If you’re a private law librarian, it will be worthwhile to attend the PLL Summit (and bring along your boss, Library Partner or Administrative Leader.) You’ll enjoy it, and they’ll thank you for enlightening them on the topic of how the private law librarians are adapting to the infamous “new normal” we’re all dealing with.

Here’s the press release on the February 17th Webinar:

“Moving Beyond Library Walls to Support Strategic Knowledge Management”

Join us on February 17 for a webinar that will examine ideas to support strategic knowledge management in your library and law firm.
The current economic downturn is challenging law firms in unprecedented ways.  Knowledge management is being implemented at firms to provide a competitive advantage.  Join knowledge management experts Julie Bozzell and Toby Brown to learn —

  • how knowledge management is being applied to support the practice and business of law, and 
  • the role law librarians can play to move beyond the reference desk to support strategic knowledge management by applying their expertise to support a new, leaner and more strategic model of law firm practice. 

This webinar is the second in a series of five programs moderated by PLL members to provide a primer in law firm management from the viewpoint of firm managers and administrators.  It is part of a two-year program undertaken by the Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section (PLL-SIS) of AALL to identify significant changes taking place in the legal world, to understand how these changes provide opportunities for assuming leadership roles, and to develop concrete plans for librarians to become leaders within their organizations.  The culmination of these efforts, the PLL Change as Action Summit, will take place in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 23, 2011.
To register, please visit this link:  http://www.regonline.com/moving_beyond

I was thinking about this very question today.

Why couldn’t a law firm offer a Groupon for their services? Why not indeed?

It is not so disimilar from offering alternative fees.

I had recently read about a women-owned firm who were offering flat-fee services for divorces, custody battles and the like.

Why not a Groupon?

I can see it now: 50% off Legal Services: $100 for $200 worth of Family Law Services.

I challenge someone to do this and report on the results.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

I’ve been holding out on the 3D televisions and movies craze for the simple reason that I thought it just looks dorky putting on those bulky glasses. That is, until I saw what one visual artist did to see 3D without the glasses. Take a look at this “eye-blinking” video of François Vogel and his 120 hertz refreshing eyelids. As Toby told me after watching this “eye can see the lawsuits that will follow.”

I guess those glasses aren’t the dorkiest thing you can do to watch 3D movies…

The Lamb has been skewered by law librarians in the legal webosphere.

When reading the posts and comments of Patrick Lamb’s recent blog, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the hierarchical structure of law firms–or of any professional services environment.

Lawyers (and partners at other professional services industries) fail to appreciate or understand the measures, lengths and methods that their legal professionals employ to execute the business of a law firm. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule, but they are not the norm.

Because of this, it results in, dare I say, a discriminatory attitude towards legal professionals.

And these lawyers’ prejudice manifests itself in a number of ways:

  1. failing to seek staff input on best business management practices,
  2. failing to acknowledge staff’s expertise in areas of legal research, knowledge management, IT and marketing,
  3. failing to recognize the influence staff have inside and outside of the firm,
  4. not leveraging staff relationships, expertise and methodology to secure new business,
  5. not rewarding staff for securing business, and
  6. not empowering staff to challenge the status quo to help the law firm grow.

I’ve worked at a number of large law firms but always as a support person. And this occurred after I got my law degree.Why? Because I like the business of law firm management. I recognized that there was a huge opportunity for someone who has a law degree and strong business administrative skills.But what I have witnessed time and time again at my previous firms was how rarely lawyers included legal professionals in their business decisions. Many lawyers failed to recognize that their staff are, at times, far more educated than they–heck, law librarians not only have to have JDs but also Master Degrees in Library Science.Some of my best colleagues have MBAs, leadership training and PhDs.So in this week of celebrating Martin Luther King and his call for equality, I ask lawyers everywhere to take off their blinders and take a look at the people working with you every day.Who knows–that helpdesk guy who just fixed your computer may very well have a daughter who is a GC at a Fortun 500 company.It’s happened to me before. Really.

Ok. The last time the Legal Directories Publishing Co. sent me a fax just a few months ago, I threatened to blog about it but didn’t do it.
Unbelievably, they did it again.
Hello! It is 2011, people.
Let’s see a show of hands–how many of you have a fax machine?
Exactly.
The only thing I can think is that their target audience is over the age of 60.

Many of us have already seen a few projections of what will happen in the legal industry this year. Most of those predictions are “yawners” (such as Richard Susskind’s prediction of firms adopting more social media, adopting cloud-based apps, and using tablets… which Toby labeled as Susskind “jumping the shark” on his predictions.) So, we thought we’d twist this annual tradition and seek out predictions for 2011 that you may not have thought about. Here are a few “under the radar” predictions for 2011 from a number of different perspectives.

As is another tradition… scroll down to the end of this post to see how you can contribute to next week’s Elephant Post question. It’s super easy to do, and we love having participants sharing their perspective on a question and seeing how it blends in with other perspectives.

Records Management Perspective
Someone’s gonna get busted…
Greg Lambert

There’s a perfect storm brewing in the area of Records Management (RM) within the legal industry. Although the Enron debacle raised the profile of RM in the first decade of the century, it seems that old habits of law firm management are creeping back into the fray, and are going to end up biting someone in the rear this year. Here are the factors that many firms face:

  1. No one really wants to implement a true RM policy.
  2. Even if a RM policy exists, there is little incentive for anyone to follow it.
  3. Law firms are reluctant to invest in supporting RM policies.
  4. RM outsourcing companies arrange contracts where it is cheaper to keep something for 20+ years in storage than it is to destroy or bring back those materials.
  5. IT infrastructure (storage) is so cheap that not following a RM policy has minimal effect on the overall performance of the infrastructure.
  6. There is no desire on the part of the attorneys to follow up on RM policies because it is a non-billable process.
  7. For an industry that is built upon the principles of being “risk adverse,” when it comes to RM policies, it seems that no one is willing to really move upon them until someone else gets sanctioned.

So my “other” prediction for 2011 is that someone at a major law firm gets sanctioned this year for maintaining client records beyond the recognized legal time period, and those documents end up costing a client a major court case. Everyone knows it is going to happen eventually… I’m just projecting that it will happen this year.
AFA Perspective
TR Opens the LPO Barn Door … Wide
Toby Brown

The Thomson Reuters’ (TR) purchase of Pangea3 has kicked the LPO barn door wide-open.  This is much more than a prediction of more out-sourcing of legal services.  Instead, I am predicting clients start diverting their relationships away from law firms to LPO providers.  There has been this stand-off on whether it would be clients or law firms that embrace LPOs first, each one waiting to see who would trust the model first.  With TR’s purchase, the wait is over. A recent conversation with an industry consultant confirmed that client inquiries about Pangea3 and LPOS has jumped considerably since the acquisition.

This “other” prediction means that law firm relationships with clients will continue to weaken as “New Normal” providers move in and displace them.
Knowledge Management Perspective
It’s Not Just for Recreational Use Anymore: Legalizing Project Management
Ayelette Robinson

The concept of LPM (Legal Project Management) is hardly a new one, and the prediction that more firms will pay attention to it in 2011 is hardly a bold one. My prediction, however, is slightly different: I predict that those trying to sell project management to law firms and law firm management will finally legalize it — that is, they will find a way to weave it into how attorneys practice, rather than focusing on the new and different processes that attorneys need to go through in order to reap its benefits.

For those attorneys who understand what project management is (which in itself is a minority of attorneys overall), project management is seen as recreational, something that might be nice to do and might add value in theory, but whose burden of time and effort to implement far outweighs any potential benefit or WIIFM (what’s in it for me) factor. So I predict that this year, LPM will be legalized. Someone or something will turn the tide across the legal industry so that more firms than not, and more attorneys than not, will not just appreciate the value in theory, but will get that there is a way to incorporate it into the business without undercutting everything they’ve ever learned and practiced. Actual implementation across the industry may take another year (or two, or five…), but I predict that this year perceptions will change. And PM will be legalized.
Legal Technology (Reality TV) Perspective
The Kardashians
Danny Johnson

The three geeks are kind of like the Kardashians, you know? Flawed, no doubt, but, late at night (or in the office), they can be useful. I’m speaking about late-night learning, of course. And about looking past your biases. Like Kim, Toby’s the big name, but you have to forget that he’s “Toby Brown.” He’s no longer working at the Utah bar.

As his bio states, Greg is all over Twitter and wins awards, even if they’re geeky ones at that. Kind of like how Kourtney has come back even more of a star after her pregnancy.

And Lisa is Khloe, the least-known, but after appearances on “Celebrity Apprentice,” a marriage to a Laker and a natural affinity of design, they have the most upside.

Trust me, I know potential when I see it. I just spent almost 200 words comparing three geeks to reality TV/sex tape stars. It didn’t totally work, but it was enough to get us to my prediction.

The global hegemony of legal server document management will come to end as cloud takes over.

“Ummh, what was the question?”
Internet Marketing Perspective
Lisa Salazar

Lawyers will be stumped, stymied and flummoxed by Quora.

The rest of the world will ramp up and get on board to the latest social media craze while lawyers are looking for the dark cloud (rather than the silver lining).

While new start-ups begin to burgeon around Quora and Fortune 500 companies figure out how to leverage it, law firms will take one look and turn their back.

What can  I say?

Can I call ’em, or what?

Next Week’s Elephant Post Question:

What Do You Absolutely Love About Your Profession?

I know as a librarian, I hate it when someone thinks that I went into this profession because I love books. That’s the equivalent to saying that you became an IT professional because you like playing Tetris. There is just so much more going on that is interesting, enjoyable and fulfilling (although, I still like to read books and play Tetris as well.)

This is a super-slow softball of a question. If you can’t think of an answer for this one, then perhaps you should ponder changing career paths. Between such an easy question, and such an easy process to add your perspective, you have no excuses on why you can’t contribute to the next Elephant Post.

Instructions:

See you next week!!